Rotary filing apparatus



P 1953 B. DISCOUNT 2,651,305

ROTARY FILING APPARATUS Filed June 26,.1950 2 sheets-sheet 1 I N V EN TOR. BERNARD mscou/vr ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1953 B. DISCOUNT 2,651,305

ROTARY FILING APPARATUS Fil'ed June 26, lac-v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

@3941 614, .12. ammkowscouw ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES Q'FF I CE ROTARY- FILING APPARATUS Bernard Discount; JamaicaQNJYZ Application June zli; 1950,:Seria 1 No'. 7 0,434 2- Claims; (Cl. 129-16) The present invention relates to. .filmgapparw' tus of the type wherein aplurality. of cards are secured upon the periphery of a rotatable filing. drum.

An object of. the present invention is to rovide improved card-retaining rail structures. adapted to perform certain new and improved functions.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved card-retaining rail shapes and cards:

having novel slots therein adapted to" cooperate with the rails,.tc secure the'cards thereon in an improved manner.

A. still further object of the invention .is'to :provide an improved drum. construction whereby a substantialv saving in material-is effected anda more efficient and economical structure is produced.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will. becomeapparent from accnsideraticn of the following descriptionof several specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of one form of rotary fil'e'employing my invention, showing a full complement of cards thereon;

Fig. 2 is: an end 'elevationalview' of the right side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the file shown in Fig. 1,,

showing the cards-spread on thedrum Fig. 4-is a, sectional view alongline 4--4; inFig. 1, showing the details of a brakeassembly'suitable for controlling the motion-of the-drum;

Fig. 5 is aplan view of anindex card suitable. for use with the structure shown in. Figs. 1 through4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged front elevational view partly in section of the drum and rail'structure employed in Figs. 1 through 4-;

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view partly in section of the right side of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged front elevaticnal view partly in section of a modificationor the-drum and rail structure showing the cooperationtherewith of a suitable file-card;

Fig. 9 is an end elevationalview of the right side of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a planview of an index card having cut-outs suitable foruse with the modification shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view partly in elevation showing another form of drum and.

rail construction; M

Fig. 12 is a. sectional view taken on line l.2--l2 in Fig. 11

:Fig; :13'is a sectional view taken on line l3-l3 in Fig. 11;.

Fig. 14 isan-enlarged transverse sectional view through aportionof the rim ofa filing drum in accordance with the present invention, showing the details of the rail construction.

Now referring'to Fig-scl through 4 of the drawings; one 'form :of rotary file .will be described. by way of illustration, as atypical structure adapted to make use of drum and card-retaining rails in accordance with the present invention. A pair ofsupports land 11- are connected together in spaced relationship 'by -means-of apair of tie rods Wand-l3. A drum l-iha-vingarim l6=and drum heads or end plates, l1 and I8, is mounted on a shaft 9 which, iin -t-urn, is I j'curnaled in supports I0 and H. The shaft. l-9' extends through and beyond support and is'prcvided with a knob 20- to' facilitate operation by; the-operator. The other end of shaft [9 terminates in screw 2-! whiiclliarevents withdrawal of the'shaft from suppor A pain-of card-retaining rails 2-5 and 26; the details-of. which will be described hereafter, are fixedly spacedapart-on-rim l6 of druml5z As seen in the'drawings, a plurality of cards are carried by the rails aroundthe periphery of. the drum.-

N-u-meral 23 designates an adjustment screw for controlling; a braketshown generally at 28. in

Fig; 4. Thisebrake fcrms'no-part of the present inventiongbut isfully described and claimed in my'copending application, Serial N o. ;870, filed May 9,1950,- now Patent-No.- 2,612,970.

It; should be quite obvious that the carddrum maybe mounted on. any type of support. It might be mounted'directlyinsor on a" table or desk, or severaldrums might be mounted together on a single shaft.

The details of one form of drumand rail assembly w-illnow be described in connection with Figse-6 and 7. A. cylindrical rimi6 is provided withwend. plates I l and 1-8, which are-each provided with a central: opening such as the one shownaten Thismuch isconventional and, obviously; may be modified in various ways. Part of the present invention consists in the shape givento the-spaced rails-2 5 and 2-6. As s'eenin thedrawi-ngs, the rails'arecircular and concentrioally mounted-on the rim l6. Their transverse section. resembles. the letter V resting on its side. AssecninFig.6,-the-apexes of the rails .pcint in opposite directions. For a better of the rail construction;v attention is directed to Fig. .14. whereina portionofa drum rim is shown understanding.

at IS. The rail consists of a first portion, or inner rail element, 3|, which extends outwardly from the rim at an acute angle indicated by 0. This angle is not critical as I have been able to obtain satisfactory results within the limits 30 and 90. A second portion, or outer rail element, 32, extends from the outer edge of inner element 3! in the reverse direction. The two elements thus extend outwardly from the drum in zig-zag fashion. The angle e which element 32 makes with the horizontal, or which its projection makes with the axis of the drum, is preferably within the limits and 45 for satisfactory results. It now will be obvious that the angle ,Bdefined by the intersection of inner and outer elements 3! and 32, respectively, will Vary with variations in 0 and For reasons which will be pointed out.

quate bearing surface to the card when the cards are tipped thereon and spread on the drum, as clearly seen in Fig. 2. Thirdly, the arrangement must not permit the cards to bind on the rails under the radial pressure. In addition, the arrangement must permit easy insertion and removal of cards as well as smooth motion of the cards along the rails to facilitate spreading thereof The present invention satisfies the above requirements with a minimum of compromise.

As stated above, it is preferable to maintain the angle 5 less than 90. The reason for this will now be apparent. As the card moves radially from the drum, card edges 42 and 43 contact, respectively, rail elements 3! and 32, which form the gripping surface. The two rail elements co- 7 operate to form a wedgelike member which, if

below, it is preferable to maintain angle {-3 under In Fig. 6, the relative relationship between rail 28 and rim I6 is the same as that of the rail and rim in Fig. 14. Rail 25 in Fig. 6 has the identical cross-sectional characteristics as rail 26 except that it is positioned to oppose rail 26 with the inner rail elements converging while the outer element diverge.

The rails may, in one form, be stamped out of sheet stock, the center portion being removed by punching thereby producing a ring which can be slipped on the rims and soldered or welded into position. It should be clear that the identical stampings will serve for both rails 25 and 26. In another form, the rails could be cast or molded integral with the rim; or any other known process may be employed.

A card is represented in Fig. 5, having a pair of cut-outs 40 and M located at the inner margin which is adapted to cooperate with the structure shown in Fig. 6 wherein the outer rail elements are diverging. The cut-out 4! is seen to have the same outline as the rail section in Fig. 14, the various angles 0, e, and 5 corresponding, but the distances between parallel margins of the cut-out are greater than the thickness of the rail elements to allow for tipping of the card. When the card is placed on the rails by flexing, they cooperate in the followingmanner.

For simplicity in explanation, reference will be had to cut-out 4| in Fig. 5 and the rail section in Fig. 14. The toe portion 46 of the card fits under element 3! of the rail with edge 42 of the card making line contact with the underside of element 3:. The portion 44 of the card fits within the angle formed by rail elements 3| and 32 with card edge 43 capable of making line contact with the inner surface of element 32. The upper edge 45 of the cut-out 4| is adapted to make line contact with the uper edge of rail element 32. Cut-out 40 of the card cooperates with its rail in a similar manner.

In apparatus of this type, there are several factors which must be considered in arriving at an optimum combination of card and retaining rail structure. First of all, the arrangement must present an adequate resistance to separation of the card in a radial direction from the rail in order to prevent the cards from falling off the rails, not only when in a depending position below the drum, but under the action of centrifugal force when the drum is rotated. With the instant rail structure, the inner surfaces of elements 3! and 32, as seen in Fig. 14, provide the resisting force and for simplicity, the two surfaces taken together, will be called the gripping surface. Secondly, the rail must present an adethe angle therebetween is small enough, will cause the cards thereon to bind in response to the slightest radial movement. With angle 3 less than the internal angle of the wedge will be greater than 90. As a result, any tendency of the cards to wedge on the rail is effectively reduced to an inconsequential quantity. This factor is reduced further as angle e is reduced, as will be readily apparent.

Theoretically, a T-shaped rail would seem to be more desirable since the wedge angle would be eliminating the possibility of binding completely. But practically speaking, this shape is undesirable for several reasons.

In order to understand one of the reasons, it will be necessary to establish the definition of a comparison standard which I shall call the gripping factor. As stated above, it is necessary that the rails restrain the cards from separating radially from the drum. The distance subtended, in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction, by the restraining surfaces of the rails, i a positive index of their holding power. In Fig. 14, the element 3| subtends the distance X while the element 32 subtends the distance Y. The width of the rail is shown as W. Now, it will be obvious from the drawing that the ratio of X+Y to W will be greater than unity. This ratio is the gripping factor. A moments reflection will show that for a T-shaped rail, the gripping factor will be less than unity and, therefore, a rail so formed is less efficient than one constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Furthermore, when the rail is T -shaped, the corresponding cut-outs in the cards have rectangularly shaped toes (the parts which. fit under the head of the rail) which are fragile and susceptible to tearing during insertion and removal of the cards from the drum. With rails constructed in accordance with the present invention, the cards have cut-outs as shown in Figs. 5 and 10, wherein the toes, such as 44 and 46 in Fig. 5, are well supported by the body of the card, and it should be obvious that they are less susceptible to tearing than if the cut-outs were T shape.

It has been found in practice, furthermore, that the present construction produces an ensemble wherein the cards are more easily removed and replaced. All that is necessary is to grab a group of cards at one side and pull in a rotary motion. When the cards are free from one rail, they tendto naturally slip free from the other rail. The toe 44, because of sloping edge 43, will readily slip free of its rail, without danger of tearing.

In addition to the above, the entire upper surface of rail element 32 contacts the edge 45 of the card when the latter is tipped backward or forward. As a result, there is little or no tendency to tear or fray that edge and the cards are Well supported when the operator is working on them.

In some cases, it may be preferred to remove the cards by grasping them at the center between the rails whereby lifting will bow the cards and flex them over both rails simultaneously. In such case, the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 would be employed wherein the rails 50 and 5| are reversed, the inner elements diverging and. the outer elements converging. A card suitable for use with this arrangement is shown in Fig. 10,

Card retaining rails constructed in the manner set forth above readily lend themselve to use with a new type of drum construction. With this drum, there is achieved a considerable saving in material and a marked simplification in fabrication. Reference will now be had to Figs. 11, 12 and 13, which show a specific exemplification of my new drum structure. It consists broadly of a pair of combined rail and end plates 60 and. BI, spaced apart by a cylindrical rim 62 and mounted on a shaft 63. The pieces or drum heads 66 and BI, in the form illustrated, are identical stampings, one being reversed with reference to the other. Piece 6!, for example, comprises an inner body or web portion 64 surmounted peripherally by the rail structure 65. The structure 65 is constructed in the same manner as rails 25 and 26 in Fig. 6, and follows the specifications set forth in connection with Fig. 14. It will be noted that the junction of the inner rail element with the body portion produces a natural seat for the end of rim 62. This facilitates assembly and eliminates the need for costly jigs for centering the rim and properly spacing the end plates. A pair of collars B1 and 68 are mounted on shaft 63 to act as spacers in positioning the drum structure on said shaft. The drum obviously must be keyed or otherwise afiixed to shaft 63 and the spacers may in certain instances be eliminated, as for example, when the plates 60 and GI, are soldered to the shaft. The shaft may be mounted in any suitable support, for example, in the manner shown in Fig. 11.

It will be seen that with this arrangement, the necessity of separate end plates with their requisite machining is thus eliminated. At the same time, there is effected a reduction of close to 50% in the length of rim required with the accompanying saving in material. Other advantages will be readily apparent to those familiar with the art to which this invention appertains.

In the various embodiments disclosed, it has been found in practice that excellent results are obtained when angle a is made equal to approximately 50 and angle is made approximately equal to 20, but as pointed out above these angles are not at all critical.

Thearrangements described above can be produced by casting in separate parts or as an integral structure, or in any other well-known manner.

Having now described my invention in detail, I desire to secure by Letters Patent and claim:

1. A rotary filing drum having a cylindrical rim and having a pair of card-retaining rails extending annularly thereabout in spaced apart relation, each said rail comprising an inner and an outer element, the inner element having one edge integrally connected to the rim and its other edge integrally connected to an edge of the outer element, said outer element being disposed at an angle with respect to the inner element, said two elements of each rail being disposed in V-shaped angular relationship with respect to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said drum, whereby one pair of corresponding elements diverge axially of the drum and the other pair of elements converge axially of the drum, each said rail having a gripping factor of substantially unity.

2. A rotary filing drum as set forth in claim 1, wherein said drum comprises a first and second drum head spaced apart, with the cylindrical rim disposed therebetween, and said drum heads extending radially outwardly beyond said rim.

BERNARD DISCOUNT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,087,518 Lowe July 20, 1937 2,153,575 Kramer Apr. 11, 1939 2,368,162 Scholfield Jan. 30, 1945 2,399,376 OHara Apr. 30, 1946 2,522,986 Bruen Sept. 19, 1950 

